A corporate tussle between two well-known developers over a prestigious and rare plot of land in Shanghai could be the first of many boardroom battles this year as more assets are put up for sale amid a souring outlook for the Chinese real estate market.

The property in question is a 45,000 square-meter plot just south of the city’s historic Bund that was originally to be developed by developers Shanghai Zendai, Greentown China and Fosun Group. The dispute began in December, when Zendai and Greentown sold a 50% stake in the project to Soho China for 4 billion yuan ($635 million). The sale irked Fosun, which called the deal a “surprise” and said that it would make sure its legal rights to the remaining stake weren’t compromised.

Fosun, which already owned 50% of project, had reportedly been working to acquire a majority stake. Denying that the deal had been done behind Fosun’s back, Zendai said Fosun had made an offer but Soho had come up with better terms.

While times are tough for most property developers amid efforts by Beijing to cool the market, cash-rich developers are taking the opportunity to sweep up assets that weren’t available for sale in the market’s frothier days.

The deal is eye-catching in part because of the obvious mismatch in personalities between the two stakeholders. While both developers are privately owned and run by people with interesting personalities, the similarities between Soho China and Fosun basically end there.

Soho China is a high-profile, Beijing-based commercial property developer run by flamboyant couple Zhang Xin and Pan Shiyi. The Hong Kong-listed firm develops office buildings in Beijing and Shanghai, and counts small and medium-sized enterprises as the bulk of their customers. Mr. Pan is a celebrity on China’s popular Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo, often sharing candid opinions about the property market and other current affairs with his more than 8 million followers (see here and here).

By contrast, Fosun Group’s real estate unit, Shanghai Forte Land Co., is headed by media-shy Fan Wei. Forte Land, which has a presence in cities across China and develops both residential and commercial property, seldom grants interviews with its executives. The property unit was delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange in May 2011 .

Mr. Pan, who was on a holiday in Prague at the time the deal was announced, dodged questions about the possible friction between the two developers during a phone briefing with reporters , only saying Soho will “cooperate with Fosun.” Fosun executives say privately that this is an awkward joint venture as Fosun is very low-key – essentially the opposite of Mr. Pan, who is very adept at publicity.

Despite the mismatch of corporate personalities, both developers are strong-headed, raising questions about how the two are going to handle decision-making on the project. There hasn’t been much progress at the development site since the government awarded the project to Zendai two years ago, meaning the two developers could lock horns over everything from development plans to drawings to budget issues.

Fosun said that it had first rights to purchase the remaining shares in the project the day after the deal was announced. “A 50-50 share structure is an unstable structure in terms of cooperation,” it said in a statement to China Real Time Friday.

Soho China did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zendai could not be reached.

Fosun might be in a position to take the upper hand, in part because it has been a stakeholder in the project slightly earlier and presumably understands the details better. Fosun effectively took a 50% stake in the project in mid-2010. Fosun also owns a stake in a company that owns almost 20% of Zendai, the original owner of the real estate. Meanwhile, Soho’s deal with Zendai and Greentown “was done very quickly, in about a month,” Pan said at a teleconference on the day the deal was announced.

Still, Fosun may find it hard to dislodge Soho, which would seem poised to win the public perception battle and, based on its higher offer for the stake, could possibly boast more financial firepower.

With the property sector in doldrums and cash positions deteriorating fast among small players, consolidation in the industry is likely to gain momentum. As the Soho-Fosun battle illustrates, the competition could get ugly.